Vincent Roach (listed on the Tatnall Map as “Ven’t Roach”). Origin: Unknown

On the Tatnall map, Ven’t Roach owned a parcel of 44 acres of land in the Stella Maris area of Long Island. This same land is shown on the Lands & Surveys Map as having been granted to Richard Curtis, an Old Inhabitant, on 21 July 1788 or 1789; however the two maps have the same parcels, but in different order. That is, the four small parcels belonged to Richard and Neptune Curtis and Vincent Roach.

We believe that this individual might in fact be “Vicente Roche,” who is listed as a Spanish soldier who defected in 1783 when Deveaux retook Nassau.

Sometime between 1719 and 1722, a Robert Roche was granted land on New Providence, as was “Widow Roche.” Then in 1720, Robert Roche signed the will of a man named Edward Holmes in the Bahamas, as one of his witnesses.

Vincent Roche was later the overseer of Alexander Mair’s plantation on Long Island, named “Banchory Lodge” or “Banbury Lodge,” in the lower Tatnall area, and on 20 February 1790 Alexander Mair placed a runaway slave advertisement in the Bahamas Gazette, offering a reward for information leading to the return of his “New Negro Man” named Cato. Reward would be given when Cato was returned to Mr. Mair’s plantation overseer, Mr. Vincent Roche. Cato was described as “undersized with Country marks on his face and breast” and was remarkable in having small feet.

We categorized him as “Unknown,” because we have two sets of information; one indicates that he was Spanish (“Other”), and the other suggests that he was an Old Inhabitant.

References: Bahamas Gazette